Five Ethical Theories

 Egoism - the self and its needs

 Utilitarianism -overall pleasure and pain for all concerned
 Deontology - duty
 Care Ethics - relationships, vulnerability, and empathy
 Virtue Ethics -character

Ethical Theory 1: Egoism

 Famous Proponents: Ayn Rand, Adam Smith
 What makes something good or bad, right or wrong, is that it satisfies
one’s desires, or meets one’s needs
 Basic Principle: Self-interest of person doing, considering, or affected by
the action
 One should choose the action which most realizes or conduces to one’s
own self-interest
 Important Variation: should the person look simply to self-interest, or to
enlightened or rational self-interest?
 Conception of Rational Self-Interest is basic component of capitalist
economy and business models
 Invoke principle of self-interest or something like it
 what makes an action right is that it conforms to self-interest of person
doing, considering, or affected by the action (notice: can conflict with
others)
 Be able to pick out what choice (or set of likely) consequences is in the
person’s best self-interest
 This will probably entail invoking a principle of enlightened or rational
self interest

Ethical Theory 2: Utilitarianism

 Famous Proponents: Jeremy Bentham, J.S. Mill

 What makes something good or bad, right or wrong, is that it produces
the greatest amount of pleasure (or lack of pain) for the greatest
number of people
 Basic Principle: “Greatest Happiness Principle”
  Maximizing positive outcomes for the largest number of people,
negative outcomes for lowest number of people
 One should choose the action which will lead to the greatest happiness
(i.e. pleasure, lack of pain) overall
 One’s own pleasure and pain only count as much as any other person’s
affected
 Important Variation: Quantitative Utilitarianism vs. Qualitative
Utilitarianism
 Invoke Greatest Happiness principle or something like it:
 what makes something good or bad, right or wrong, is that it produces
the greatest amount of pleasure (or lack of pain) for the greatest
number of people
 Another key aspect: no person’s pain or pleasure counts as more or less
valuable than another person’s. Only quantity or intensity counts.
 Be able to pick out what choice (or set of likely) consequences is likely to
bring about greatest happiness overall for all concerned
 This will probably entail some sort of tallying or calculation of likely pains
and pleasures for stakeholders
Ethical Theory 3: Deontology
 Famous Proponents: Immanuel Kant, W.D. Ross
 What makes something good or bad, right or wrong, is that it conforms
to some (rational) duty
 Basic Principle: Fulfilling duties towards self or other persons
 One should chose the action which best conforms to one’s recognized
duties
 Important Variation: are these duties discovered and understood
primarily by using reason (Kantian Deontology), or by healthy common
sense (Rossian Intuitionist Deontology
 Invoke duty as a principle or something like it:
 What makes something good or bad, right or wrong, is that it conforms
to a duty discoverable by reason
 Not enough to simply say that a person has a duty to do X
 Student has to be able to identify what the duty is in general
 For Kantian, explain which formulation of categorical imperative
 For Rossian, which prima facie duty or duties
  Be able to explain how the particular actions would correspond to the
general duty or go against it
 Notice: actions either in conformity with duty or against it.

Ethical Theory 4: Care Ethics

 Famous Proponents: Carol Gilligan, Virginia Held, Michael Slote
(developed as feminist response to other ethics –those reflective of
experience of men, not women)
 What makes something good or bad, right or wrong, is that it involves
caring for another, and supports relationship with other people
 Basic Principle: action which is caring towards those who are vulnerable
or need support
 One should chose the action which supports or nurtures other people,
particularly those who are most vulnerable (e.g. children, workers)
 Note: often viewed as supplement to other ethical theories, rather than
as comprehensive theory in own right
 Invoke principle of care or something like it: what makes an action good
is that
 It supports, maintains, or furthers existing relationships
 It involves caring for or nurturing another
 It is reflective of empathy, particularly towards those who are vulnerable
 Be able to explain how particular action fits one of these general
emphases
 May include discussion of how consequences would affect those being
cared for or not being cared for

Ethical Theory 5: Virtue ethics

 Famous Proponents: Aristotle, Confucius
 What makes something good or bad, right or wrong, is that it actually
embodies or promotes traits culturally acknowledged as good or bad
(e.g. courage, justice)
 These in turn lead to greater or lesser realization of potential for fully
human lives (“flourishing”
 Basic Principle: actions reflective or productive of good or bad character,
embodied in developed and lasting traits or habits
 Important Variation(s): different traditions and theorists develop
different lists of virtues and vices
 Invoke principle of virtue or something like it
 what makes an action right or wrong, is that it reflects or leads to virtue
or vice
 Be able to identify relevant virtue(s) and vice(s)
 Be able to explain how the particular actions would reflect or lead to
virtue(s) or vice(s)
 May look at consequence of action as providing model for others, how it
affects the general culture or individuals